King of the Road (song)
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| "King of the Road" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 One of A-side labels of the US release | ||||
| Single by Roger Miller | ||||
| from the album The Return of Roger Miller | ||||
| B-side | "Atta Boy Girl" | |||
| Released | January 1965 | |||
| Recorded | November 3, 1964 [1] | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:28 | |||
| Label | Smash[2] | |||
| Songwriter | Roger Miller[2] | |||
| Producer | Jerry Kennedy[2] | |||
| Roger Miller singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| "King of the Road" on YouTube | ||||
"King of the Road" is a song written by country singer Roger Miller, who first recorded it in November 1964.[2] The lyrics tell of the day-to-day life of a traveling hobo, who despite having little money (a "man of means by no means"), revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously and cynically as the "king of the road". It was Miller's fifth single for Smash Records.[3] The song won Miller 5 Grammy Awards in 1966.
The crossover record reached number one on the Billboard US Country chart,[4] number four on the Billboard Hot 100, and number one on the Easy Listening surveys.[5] It was also number one in the UK Singles Chart[6] and in Norway. Miller recalled that the song was inspired when he was driving and saw a sign on the side of a barn that read, "Trailers for sale or rent".[7] This became the opening line of the song.
In June 1966, Richard Pryor performed the song on the premiere episode of Kraft Summer Music Hall.[8]
A comic version by English entertainer Billy Howard, "King of the Cops", reached number on the British charts 1976.[9][10]
In 1987, R.E.M. covered the song and included it on their Dead Letter Office compilation album. Guitarist Peter Buck later commented, "If there was any justice in the world, Roger Miller should be able to sue for what we did to this song."[11]
"King of the Road" won Roger Miller five Grammy Awards at the 1966 8th Annual Grammy Awards Ceremony. It won for Best Contemporary (R&R) Single, Best Contemporary (R&R) Vocal Performance - Male, Best Country and Western Single, Best Country and Western Vocal Performance - Male & Best Country and Western Song. He also won a Grammy for Best Country and Western Album The Return of Roger Miller.[12]
Critical reception
In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song at number 60 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time list.[13]
Personnel
- Roger Miller – vocals
- Buddy Killen – guitar
- Thumbs Carllile – finger snaps
- Bob Moore – double bass
- unknown – piano, drums, tambourine
Charts
Roger Miller
| Chart (1965) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[16] | 1 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart[17] | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 4 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 5 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 10 |
| Dutch Top40[18] | 14 |
| Dutch Official Chart[17] | 5 |
| German Official Chart[17] | 26 |
| French TEF/TMP[19] | 6 |
The Proclaimers
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart[20] | 78 |
| Luxembourg (Radio Luxembourg)[21] | 6 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 8 |
| UK Singles Chart[16] | 9 |
Randy Travis
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[22] | 74 |
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[23] | 51 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Roger Miller version |
Silver | 200,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
